WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

21

2021

Israel PM warns Unilever of ‘severe consequences’ from Ben & Jerry’s decision

WORLD

DAN WILLIAMS ISRAEL warned consumer goods giant Unilever Plc on Tuesday of "severe consequences" from a decision by subsidiary Ben & Jerry's to stop selling ice cream in Israeli-occupied territories and urged U.S. states to invoke anti-boycott laws. Monday's announcement followed pro-Palestinian pressure on the Vermont-based company over its business in Israel and Jewish settlements in the West Bank handled since 1987 through a licensee partner, Ben & Jerry's Israel. Ben & Jerry's said it would not renew the licence when it expires at the end of next year. It said it would stay in Israel under a different arrangement, without…

Feb

23

2021

By The African Mirror

White supremacy a “transnational threat”, U.N. chief warns

WORLD

UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned yesterday that white supremacy and neo-Nazi movements are becoming a "transnational threat" and have exploited the coronavirus pandemic to boost their support. Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, Guterres said the danger of hate-driven groups was growing daily. "White supremacy and neo-Nazi movements are more than domestic terror threats. They are becoming a transnational threat," he told the Geneva forum. Without naming states, Guterres added: "Today, these extremist movements represent the number one internal security threat in several countries." In the United States, racial tensions simmered during the turbulent four-year presidency of Donald Trump.…

Feb

23

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Draconian’ moves to control internet in Asia

WORLD

RINA CHANDRAN From Cambodia to India and the Philippines, countries in Asia have introduced a slew of internet and data use legislation in recent months, with human rights group warning the measures raise the risk of mass surveillance and free speech violations. More than six nations have launched contact tracing systems during the pandemic - mostly without adequately safeguarding data privacy and security, campaigners say, and there have been numerous internet shutdowns and content blocks on social media and websites. "Human rights violations in the region have moved into the digital space," said Sutawan Chanprasert, founder of DigitalReach, a digital rights organisation in Bangkok.…

Feb

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Plan to hold Myanmar junta to election pledge

WORLD

TOM ALLARD INDONESIA is pushing Southeast Asian neighbours to agree on an action plan over Myanmar's coup that would keep the junta to its promise of holding elections, with monitors to ensure they are fair and inclusive, three sources familiar with the move said. The proposal from the biggest regional nation falls short of the public demands of protesters and some Western countries for the immediate release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the recognition of the November 8 ballot her party won in a landslide. Two senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters a diplomatically-led…

Jul

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Chinese nationals charged in global hacking scam

WORLD

FOUR Chinese nationals have been charged in a global hacking campaign aimed at dozens of companies, universities and government agencies in the United States, South Africa and several other countries, the U.S. Justice Department has announced. The charges were announced as the United States and a coalition of allies accused China's Ministry of State Security of a global cyber hacking campaign, specifically attributing a large Microsoft attack disclosed earlier this year to hackers working on Beijing's behalf. The hacking was sponsored by the Ministry of State Security and focused on information that would significantly benefit Chinese companies and businesses, including…

Jul

20

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. judge gives Florida man 8 months in prison in Capitol attack

WORLD

MARK HOSENBALL A federal judge has handed down an eight-month prison sentence to Floridian Paul Hodgkins for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, making him the first among hundreds of accused rioters facing prosecution to be incarcerated. Hodgkins, 38, pleaded guilty on June 2 to obstruction of an official proceeding, as Congress was in the process of formally certifying Joe Biden's election last November as U.S. president when supporters of former President Donald Trump rampaged through the building. At a sentencing hearing on Monday, prosecutor Mona Sedky told U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss that Hodgkins,…

Jul

20

2021

By The African Mirror

German govt rejects accusations of flood preparedness failures

WORLD

ANDREAS KRANZ and LEON KUGELER GERMAN officials rejected suggestions that they had done too little to prepare for last week's floods and said warning systems had worked, as the death toll from the country's worst natural disaster in almost six decades rose above 160. Flooding has devastated parts of Western Europe since last Wednesday, with the German states of Rhineland Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as parts of Belgium, among the worst hit. In the Ahrweiler district south of Cologne, at least 117 people were killed, and police warned that the death toll would almost certainly rise as the…

Jul

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Foreign missions in Afghanistan call for Taliban ceasefire

WORLD

FIFTEEN diplomatic missions and the NATO representative in Afghanistan have urged the Taliban to halt their military offensives, just hours after the insurgents and the Afghan government failed to agree on a ceasefire at talks in Doha. A delegation of Afghan leaders met the Taliban's political leadership in the Qatari capital over the weekend. But in a statement late on Sunday, the Taliban made no mention of a halt to Afghanistan's escalating violence. "This Eid al-Adha, the Taliban should lay down their weapons for good and show the world their commitment to the peace process," the 15 missions and the…

Feb

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Huge crowds in Myanmar undeterred by worst day of violence

WORLD

HUGE crowds marched in Myanmar yesterday to denounce a February 1 military coup in a show of defiance after the bloodiest episode of the campaign for democracy the previous day, when security forces fired on protesters, killing two. The military has been unable to quell the demonstrations and a civil disobedience campaign of strikes against the coup and the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others, even with a promise of new elections and stern warnings against dissent. Tens of thousands of people massed peacefully in the second city of Mandalay, where Saturday's killings took place, witnesses…

Feb

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Biden’s first month was a ‘honeymoon,’ but bigger challenges loom ahead

WORLD

TREVOR HUNNICUTT ONE month into the job, President Joe Biden is on the cusp of securing a bigger economic rescue package than during the 2009 financial crisis. He has wiped out his predecessor Donald Trump's policies from climate change to travel bans, while the U.S. daily COVID-19 vaccine distribution rate grew 55%. That may have been the easy part. The White House's broad strategy - avoid unwinnable political fights, focus on policies with mass voter appeal, and mostly ignore Republican attacks - will be increasingly difficult in the months ahead, Democrats and Republicans say, even as millions more are vaccinated…